At the general election in July 1847, to considerable surprise, the Nottingham electors rejected their two sitting Whig members in favour of Feargus O'Connor, the Chartist leader, and a free trade Conservative, John Walter. This article looks at how such a political upset occurred. It examines the political context of elections in the years leading to 1847 and at the contest itself, which ended with the return of O'Connor and the defeat of sitting MP, Sir John Cam Hobhouse. It also notes the political drift of Hobhouse, a leading radical during his time as MP for Westminster in the 1820s, to the point where he was an 1850s placeman. New evidence is brought forward from Hobhouse's own writings, which have previously been overlooked. Some of the broader issues relating to parliamentary reform in these years are also discussed, as well as the significance of O'Connor's electoral victory in enabling him to present the third Chartist petition in person in 1848.